IPL 2022 | LSG vs RCB | Match 31 Preview, Predictions, Probable XI, CREX XI

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will eye another win when they take on in-form Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 31st Match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on 19th April at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai.

The new IPL entrants, LSG, are having a marvellous season thus far as they won four out of the six games they played in the tournament. The two games they lost were close ones, reflecting the character displayed by the team. 

The Super Giants are currently positioned at the second spot in the table with 8 points. They outsmarted Mumbai Indians (MI) in their previous match to record their fourth victory in the tournament. 

KL Rahul, who played his 100th IPL game on Saturday, smashed a stunning ton against MI to help his side post a staggering total of 199 runs, which the five-time champions failed to chase. 

Rahul and co. will be keen to continue their winning run against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who come into the game with a 16-run victory over Delhi Capitals (DC).

RCB's new finisher Dinesh Karthik is currently in beast mode, having smashed 197 runs at an excellent strike rate of above 200. In the last match against DC, he once again stepped up and smacked 66* runs off 34 deliveries to propel RCB to the score of 189. In reply, Delhi could manage only 173 runs in 20 overs. 

The Faf du Plessis-led side is currently placed at the third spot of the points table with 8 points to their credit. However, RCB's top order has been a matter of concern, with captain Du Plessis and Virat Kohli failing to deliver the goods consistently. The duo will be expected to fire with the bat against LSG. 

This season, Bangalore has a well-balanced roster and will be striving for another victory. A thrilling encounter beckons in Mumbai on Tuesday with some star T20 players taking the field. 

Match Details

Match: Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Match 31

Venue: Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai

Date & Time: 19th April at 7:30 PM IST & Local Time

Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar

Pitch Report

The pitch at Dr DY Patil Stadium will favour the batters more. There will also be a good amount of help for the seamers, especially with the new ball. The spin bowlers might come into the picture in the latter half of the game. Both the teams will look to bowl first after winning the toss. It isn't a high-scoring venue, and hence anything around 150-160 can keep a team in the game.

Pitch Stats [Last 5 Matches] 

Matches Played: 5

Matches Won Batting First: 1

Matches Won Bowling First: 4

Average 1st Inning Score: 175

Average 2nd Inning Score: 165

Team Form [Last 5 Matches]

LSG: W L W W W 

RCB: W L W W W

Key Matchups

Virat vs Holder: 9/2 at 99 SR

Virat vs Krunal: 76/1 at 100 SR

Faf vs Avesh: 21/1 at 110 SR

Maxwell vs Krunal: 36/1 at 120 SR

Injury Update/Players' Availability  

Both the teams are coming off victories in their previous games and it is expected that the two teams will head into Tuesday's match with an unchanged playing eleven.

Squads

Lucknow Super Giants 

KL Rahul (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Manish Pandey, Evin Lewis, Manan Vohra, Jason Holder, Krunal Pandya, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krishnappa Gowtham, Karan Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Andrew Tye, Dushmantha Chameera, Ankit Rajpoot, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Yadav, Moshin Khan

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Faf du Plessis (captain), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, David Willey, Finn Allen (wk), Anuj Rawat (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Jason Behrendorff, Siddharth Kaul, Karn Sharma, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Chama V Milind, Rajat Patidar, Aneeshwar Gautam, Suyash Prabhudessai

Probable Playing XI 

Lucknow Super Giants

Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Manish Pandey, Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, Avesh Khan, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Anuj Rawat, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Suyash Prabhudessai, Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj

CREX XI Suggestion 

Wicket-Keeper: Dinesh Karthik, Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul

Batters: Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Marcus Stoinis

All-Rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed

Bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Avesh Khan, Mohammad Siraj

Captain: KL Rahul 

Vice-Captain: Virat Kohli